Never Again
by Sharedsun
Summary: If Edward had never come back from Alaska. Eventually, she said yes to Mike. But that was before she knew what a good right hook he had. BxE songfic


DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight, it belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

This lil thing is set to the lyrics of a song by Nickelback.

Never Again

Bella sat in the windowsill, idly flipping through the pages of a photo album. She'd been married how long now? Could it really have been almost two years? A hand fell on her shoulder, casting a shadow over the glossy pages of fake smiles and snowy mountains.

"Not looking through those old things again, are you?"

His breath smelled like tequila. She snapped the book shut, shying away on instinct. "Mike, please."

_He's drunk again, it's time to fight _

_She must have done something wrong tonight _

She knew nothing good would come of inviting Alice to spend the night. Still, a few well chosen words and smooth flattery had won the permission of her husband. Even so, she never expected the pretty vampire to bring her brother.

_The living room becomes a boxing ring _

Forks had been quiet when the Cullens left. At least, on the outside. All small towns keep secrets. Perhaps even more than their fair share. But it was never discussed. Bella was sure she couldn't be the only one.

She had already prepared the guest room for Alice's arrival. Now she squeezed in a cot for Edward as well.

Dinner had been a silent affair, what with Edward and Mike too busy staring each other down to indulge in civilized conversation. Alice just wasn't talkative, and Bella certainly wasn't going to volunteer anything.

She'd learned long ago that silence was the best defense.

_It's time to run when you see him _

_Coming licking his hands _

_She's just a woman _

"Why is he here? Why did you invite him?"

It was long after Edward and Alice had gone to "bed". Bella and Mike had stayed behind in the living room under the pretense of watching an old 'I Love Lucy' re-run on television. Mike hated reruns. Bella never watched television.

She pleaded with him, "I didn't, I swear."

She spoke softly, turning up the television as she did so. No sense in letting the guests hear what was going on. Not that she believed she could keep it from them for long. Supernatural hearing, mind reading, and psychic visions aside, they would hear it from gossipy neighbors soon enough.

"I don't believe you."

Then the fist came, sending her flying off the couch and into the coffee table. A muffled whimper escaped her lips, only serving to fuel the fire that was his rage.

_Never again_

She could only bite her lips until they bled in an effort to keep the wails of pain from escaping as he lashed out with fists and feet. It didn't work. Despite her efforts, she yelped once and cursed internally.

_I hear a scream, from down the hall _

_Amazing she can even talk at all _

Edward was seething in his cot. To think, she had actually married the bastard! He hadn't liked at all the way Mike looked at her. Not like he loved her, but like she was an annoyance. Like she wasn't good enough.

Edward heard the muffled cry from the room down the hall and sat up straight. Alice was already at the door, turning the handle.

"Don't." Edward ground out through clenched teeth. "I'll do it." He would tear the son of a bitch to pieces.

His sister took a slow step backwards, then two more until she was sitting on the bed. "Please, Edward. Think before you act."

He nodded tersely and slipped out the door.

_She cries to me, Go back to bed _

Bella could barely see through the blood that was seeping down into her eyes. She wasn't too worried though. Head wounds always seemed worse than they actually were. What did worry her was the man she saw in the doorway to the living room, murder flashing in his eyes.

"Please," she gasped out, "leave. Go back to sleep."

Surprise took the place of rage as the dominant emotion in his eyes, but the anger was still there.

"What the hell, Bella? You talking to me?" Mike paused in shocked irritation. He stared at his wife, as if seeing her for the first time.

"Go!" Bella managed in a whisper. He would hear it. She thought she saw a pair of marble white hands clenching and unclenching as they disappeared back down the corridor.

She turned her attention back to the other male in the room, who had been silent for an unusually long period of time. Mike was staring at his hands, smeared in her blood. Belatedly, she wondered if the blood would cause either of her houseguests to lose control.

"I'm going to bed." Mike stood, and padded softly away. His emotions were a roller coaster. The extreme high always brought on the low point.

With a sigh, she dragged herself into the bathroom. It was a good thing she had opted not to carpet in white. That would have been a disaster. Brownish stains didn't show so much on forest green.

Edward heard the shower begin to run. He would keep listening, and maybe she would come in to talk. If not, he would take the initiative.

_I'm terrified, she'll wind up dead _

_In his hands, __She's__ just a woman _

_Never Again _

He read about abuse in the papers all the time, watched it on the television. He could never really understand though, why the woman would stand for it. Or child, if it came to that. Surely people would be sympathetic?

He hated how that statement had become a question.

_Been there before, but not like this _

_Seen it before, but not like this _

She couldn't be afraid to tell the neighbors. Angela, at least, would help.

"Alice." Tawny eyes met, and she nodded to show she was listening. "Why?"

_Never before have I ever_

_Seen him this bad __She's__ just a woman _

Alice sighed, balling up the coverlet in her tiny hands. "She doesn't want it to be real. She thinks that, as long as no one else knows, she can keep pretending SYMBOL 8212 \f "Times New Roman" \s 12"

Edward stared incredulously, "Real? The bruises and cuts aren't enough? Perhaps some internal damage, maybe?"

"You still love her. And she sure as hell doesn't love Mike. Do something about it. Talk to her. There's always a way."

"You've seen something?"

Silence. She was shielding her thoughts, and no amount of poking and prying on his part seemed enough to break the barrier.

_Never Again _

The water shut off abruptly, and Edward listened intently, almost eagerly. He sat back in disappointment as the footsteps passed his room without pause.

A few seconds later another door opened, then closed quietly. She must have been crazy to go back in there with him. Edward took a moment to sift through Mike's thoughts until he was satisfied the blonde wouldn't try anymore that night.

He also saw why Bella had gone directly into the master bedroom. If she hadn't, Mike had been prepared to charge her with adultery.

_Just tell the nurse, you slipped and fell _

_It starts to sting as it starts to swell _

Mike drove Bella to the hospital after work the next day. She had been having a bit of trouble breathing lately.

She'd tried, unsuccessfully, to assure Edward and Alice that she was perfectly fine. So they were following behind in a shiny silver car. Bella couldn't stop herself from glancing into the rearview mirror every five seconds or so. It was reassuring to see an angel was watching over her again.

Nurse Jansen was on duty again when they arrived. She scowled at Bella in irritation. "What happened to you, Miss Swan?"

"I…tripped. Going down the stairs. It was an accident."

_She looks at you, she wants the truth _

The nurse sighed, "Your clumsiness is famous around these parts. But I'd believe you a bit more if it hadn't been the fourth time this month. Stop lying to me."

Bella bit her lip, unable to stop her gaze from flicking to the door and back. A look of grim comprehension crossed the other woman's face.

_It's right out there in the waiting room _

_With those hands _

_Lookin__' just as sweet as he can _

"Lets get you cleaned up. I can give you some salve for the cuts, and ice for the black eye. The bruises will have to heal on their own."

"All right," Bella whispered.

"Oh, and I want an X-ray of your chest. Just in case." She left the room shaking her head and muttering. Bella thought she caught Mike's name, and the word 'surprising'.

Odd. That what she would have thought too, if it had been anyone else.

_Never Again _

The scan came out clean. No internal bleeding, bruises, or broken ribs. Heart rate was steady. She was, however, due for a checkup within the month. _Seen it before, but not like this _

_Been there before, but not like this _

They were in a tight spot. Bella wanted to stay, and get her checkup over and done. Mike needed to get back to work. They looked at each other for a moment. Edward grinned. She had retained her backbone after all…not to mention her incredible stubbornness.

Edward offered to drive Bella home again, once the doctors were through. Suddenly, Mike's work enthusiasm dropped sharply.

"Edward, why don't you go find Carlisle." Alice chimed in, "I can bring Bella back when she's ready. Maybe we'll go shopping or something."

No male could ever resist Alice, but Mike still wavered. Bella chased him off with a hint about a trip to the gynecologist.

_Never before have __I ever_

_Seen him this bad _

_She's just a woman _

"Bella, we need to talk." Alice said seriously, once the men were gone, each to their respective tasks.

Bella sighed and sat down on one of the plastic covered orange chairs in the waiting room. She knew it was coming. "I know."

Alice said nothing, only waited.

"He's never…" Bella struggled for words, "This is the worst it has ever been."

"It's happened before." Alice said flatly. "How long?"

"Since we've been married? Or since I turned into a punching bag?"

The vampire's lips twitched. Bella certainly hadn't let him beat the sense of humor out of her.

"He proposed to me about eight months after you left. We've been married for about a year and a half." Bella paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "He hit me for the first time a week after our anniversary."

"He told me it was a one time thing. He promised."

_Never Again _

"Bella, why did you marry him? You don't love him."

Sometime during her narrative, Bella's head had drifted down onto Alice's shoulder. It jerked up now, brown eyes flashing.

"Why did you two leave? Why did Edward leave me? You don't know what it was like, those first few months. You can't!"

Alice might have been turned into stone, she was so still. After a moment she moved to wrap her arms around the shaking human beside her.

"Why were you so determined to stay here? Why do you want to see a doctor so badly?"

Bella sniffed. "I need to know…if I'm--"

A man appeared in the doorway of the waiting room. "Doctor Cullen will see you now, Miss Swan."

_Father's a name you haven't earned yet _

_You're just a child with a temper _

"You think you're pregnant?" Carlisle sounded stunned.

"I don't know. That's what I want to find out." Bella twisted a lock of hair around her fingers nervously. This was rather embarrassing. And Edward wouldn't stop staring, with that same look of disbelief. It worried her.

Carlisle consented to do the test, wondering whether or not this new anxiousness in his patient had anything to do with the reappearance of his two "children".

Yes, he decided after another glance at the three of them, it did.

_Haven't you heard "Don't hit a lady"? _

_Kickin__' your ass would be a pleasure _

Edward fervantly hoped she wasn't pregnant. Every muscle in his body was tense as he watched Bella play with her hair. Alice glanced between the two of them and left, silently wishing him good luck. He eyed Bella rather nervously, wondering how to break the ice. When had this wall come up between them? He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.

"Edward, I'm scared." Almost guiltily, she let their eyes meet.

That was all it took. He crossed the room in two strides and had her back in his arms again, where she belonged. He hadn't realized how much he missed her and, judging by how tightly she was clutching his shirt, she had missed him as well.

So they were both immensely relived when the test came up negative.

_He's drunk again,_ _it's time to fight_

_Same old shit, just on a different night_

He gave her a week or two of recuperation. Earlier that morning, however, she had finally seen Edward and Alice off. What Mike didn't know was how close they still were, living with Carlisle again. Bella kept that to herself. She also told no one about the plan they had made before they left.

He had promised to come back for her, after the divorce was finalized. They would go visit Renee in Florida, or spend a week in Hawaii together. It didn't matter that he could only escort her during the night. She could just sleep during the day then.

The plans made her brave. Brave enough to face down Mike and demand he sign the papers. Unfortunately, he didn't take the news very well and she went flying over the kitchen table and into a glass fronted cabinet that held their china. The glass shattered and shards rained down on her. Grim faced, she watched him advance on her again. This was going too far. Dimly, she was aware that the last shreds of self control were slipping away, but she didn't particularly care anymore.

Silver metal gleamed at her as she jerked open a drawer near her waist.

_She grabs the gun, she's had enough_

_Tonight she'll find out how fucking tough_

_is this man_

He stopped dead in his tracks. "Bella, no."

She slowly rose to her feet, breathing heavily, keeping the gun leveled straight at his chest. "Sign the paper."

He nodded, then suddenly grinned boyishly. "You can't do it. You'd be lost without me. You _need _me."

The gun dropped a fraction. Confidence boosted, he went on, "You're too weak."

There was an ominous click, and a single shot was fired.

_Pulls the trigger just as fast as she can_

_Never Again_

The police would come. Soon, she was sure. And yet, she could only stare at the body with some sadness. He could have been a good man, had things worked out differently. Yet she wasn't sorry. No, not at all.

Besides, Edward was good at dodging the authorites. A smile curved her lips. Maybe that vacation would come sooner than expected.

End.


End file.
